The present invention is directed, in general, to wireless communications systems and, more specifically, to a system and method for processing wireless files based on filename extension and a wireless infrastructure incorporating the system or the method.
Wireless data and information has been steadily increasing in volume as all mobile and especially hand-held units have continued to proliferate. The future promises to continue this growth at an ever increasing rate. However, the wireless environment is generally hostile, and most of the environmental noise encountered by wireless signals is man-made with the predominant sources being other wireless user, as well as interference signals emanating from auto ignition and battery charging systems. If the mobile units are carried inside buildings, the wireless signals may be attenuated or become subject to other noise sources such as elevators and industrial machinery accentuating the problem. Even areas outside but surrounded by buildings or industrial sites create significant interference and noise for the wireless signal. A file representing wireless data or information may have significant errors, for the reasons just discussed, and therefore, require error correction and filtering to remove or xe2x80x9csmoothxe2x80x9d wireless transmission errors before the files may be reliably used.
Files that have been generated from wireless data or information may also be in a compressed format from the original wireless audio, video or image files. File compression removes predictable bits thereby reducing the file to its minimum reconstructible size. This also reduces the necessary transmission and storage requirements for the file. Before the files may be processed, however, they must normally be uncompressed to their original size.
Computer systems handle many types of data and information files. These files are xe2x80x9ccodedxe2x80x9d into classes of files that normally represent the type of processing that may be performed on them. Computer based file extensions (e.g., .doc, .ppt .gif, etc.) represent certain classes of files and indeed are used to distinguish those files for particular applications. However, there are currently no standard classes specifically related to file extensions for wireless data or information.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a way to distinguish files that have wireless origins so that they may be easily and properly processed.
To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a system for, and method of, processing a wireless file in a computer network and a communications infrastructure incorporating the system or the method. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) an examiner that receives at least a portion of the wireless file and identifies a filename thereof and (2) a file processor that modifies a content of the wireless file based on the filename.
The present invention therefore introduces the broad concept of employing a filename (or a portion thereof) of a wireless file to determine whether or what type of processing is to be performed with respect to the wireless file. Subsequent processing can then be carried out in the computer network, in a wireless mobile station or in an ancillary communications infrastructure. xe2x80x9cWireless filexe2x80x9d is defined, for purposes of the present invention, as any file that contains communications data. These data may form a datastream. The data may be audio, video or image data (user data) or may be wireless information (control data employed in communicating the user data).
In one embodiment of the present invention, the examiner identifies an extension of the filename. In an embodiment to be illustrated and described, the extension is selected from the group consisting of: .wdf (xe2x80x9cwireless data formatxe2x80x9d) and wif (xe2x80x9cwireless information format). Of course, other parts of the filename, or the whole filename, may be employed to determine the type or extent of wireless file modification required.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the examiner is associated with the Internet. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the examiner or the file processor may be associated with any other computer network, one or more wireless base stations, one or more switches or any other part of a conventional or later-developed communications infrastructure.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the file processor modifies the content by performing an action selected from the group consisting of: (1) correcting an error in the content and (2) filtering the content. Those skilled in the art are familiar with other actions that may be taken with respect to data to improve the fidelity or quality thereof or otherwise to modify the data. All such types of modification are within the broad scope of the present invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the content is compressed. The compression technique may be any conventional or later-developed technique. Of course, the content need not be compressed.
The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, preferred and alternative features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.